In an increasingly networked world, more and more traffic, such as data, voice, and video, is transmitted over public and proprietary networks. The networks use high data rates (e.g., greater than 10 gigabits per second (Gbps)) to transport greater quantities of traffic. Certain types of the networks, such as optical networks, use complex signal processing to achieve the high data rates. The complex signal processing may be performed using forward error correction (FEC) devices, such as iterative soft decoders, that use soft iterative error correction techniques to reduce a quantity of errors, within the traffic, to a level that is specified by the public and proprietary networks. Unfortunately, certain error patterns associated with the traffic (e.g., an error burst, an error density that is greater than a threshold, a grid lock error condition, etc.) can cause FEC devices to fail. The failure of the FEC devices may cause the errors, within the traffic, to not be corrected. The failure of the FEC devices may also cause the quantity of errors, within the traffic, to increase to a level that is greater than the level that is specified by the public and proprietary networks, which may cause a disruption of service and/or a reduction in the quality of service received by a client device.